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Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 28 (2008) 233–244

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Post-earthquake emergency assessment of building damage,safety and usability—Part 2: Organisation

S. Anagnostopoulosa,�, M. Morettib

aDepartment of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Rio GR-26500, GreecebDepartment of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, Volos 38334, Greece

Received 3 March 2006; received in revised form 17 May 2006; accepted 23 May 2006

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the organisational aspects of the planning, setting up and execution of building inspection

operations under emergency conditions, created by damaging earthquakes. The procedures developed herein reflect experience from

damaging earthquakes in Greece and elsewhere and were tested in a pilot trial in the Greek city of Chania, with the purpose of adapting

them in the overall earthquake emergency response plan of Greece. A computer program, PEADAB (for Post-Earthquake Assessment of

Damaged Buildings) has been developed to support the planning and execution of such operations. Technical aspects of the operation are

described in a companion paper (Part 1).

r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Emergency management; Disaster response; Disaster preparedness; Damage assessment

1. Introduction

When a damaging earthquake hits a populated area, oneof the first actions that authorities must take is to inspectall the buildings in the affected area in order to identify safeand unsafe buildings, so as to avoid death and injuriesresulting from aftershocks. Identification of all safebuildings for immediate use will minimise the number ofhomeless, thus reducing the required temporary sheltersand the load for emergency provisions. The inspections willbe part of an earlier planned operation designed to coverefficiently and reliably large numbers of affected buildingsunder the usually chaotic emergency conditions created bythe earthquake. Emergency interventions will be carriedout to demolish dangerous buildings or portions thereofand provide shoring to weakened buildings to protect themfrom the aftershock sequence. Crucial factors for thesuccess of such an operation, which is obviously quiteimportant to get life in the affected areas back to normal,are its advance planning, the familiarity of the responsible

e front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ildyn.2006.05.008

ing author. Tel.: +302610997630; fax: +302610996577.

esses: saa@upatras.gr (S. Anagnostopoulos),

(M. Moretti).

authorities with the required actions to quickly set up theoperation, and the training of the personnel involved,especially the engineers–inspectors. The technical aspectsof such operations are presented in the companion paper[1]. The present paper deals with the organisational aspectsand is based on recent [2–4] and on earlier work [5–9].

2. Objectives of the operation

A prerequisite for the success of the operation is to haveclear and well-defined objectives well known and under-stood by all the people involved. In particular, theengineers–inspectors, key personnel in this operation,should keep them always in mind in order to optimisetheir time and efforts. Ranked by their importance, thereare two objectives, primary and secondary.Primary objectives: (1) protect human life and (2) save

properties.Secondary objectives: (1) minimise the number of

homeless and the loss of economic activity, by identifyingas soon as possible all buildings that are safe to occupy anduse, (2) indicate unsafe areas around hazardous buildings,identify temporary shelter sites and provide the number of

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required temporary housing units, (3) provide the neces-sary data for obtaining reliable estimates of the disasterthat will allow authorities to take relief measures,formulate disaster mitigation policies and allocate availableresources, (4) provide data that will identify frequentcauses of damage, so that potential rehabilitation plansmay take into account such information and (5) providedata for practical research studies that may lead to re-evaluation of existing codes and construction practices, toupdates of seismic hazard maps and to elaboration ofseismic vulnerability models for pre-earthquake planningpurposes.

3. A brief overview of the inspections operation

After the occurrence of an earthquake, a field office is setup to be in charge of the inspections operation and of theemergency interventions.

The emergency inspections are carried out by teamsof structural engineers and can be rapid or detailed (seeFig. 1). The rapid inspection is first carried out to screenout obviously safe or obviously unsafe buildings and is

Fig. 1. Damage, usability and posting classification of buildings.

followed by a detailed inspection of those buildings thathave not been identified as safe by the rapid inspection. Thedetailed inspections will normally start after completion ofthe rapid inspections, at a time when hopefully theaftershock activity has subsided. Along with informationabout the building, its location, usage, structural type, etc.,the observed damage is recorded and assessed in a speciallydesigned Earthquake Damage Inspection Form (EDIF)following the damage classification and guidelines listed inthe companion paper [1] and in a Field Manual [3].Different parts of the EDIF are filled during each type ofinspection. On the basis of the recorded damage andfollowing again specific guidelines [1–3], an assessment forsafety and usability is made and the building is posted as:Green, Yellow, or Red.As part of this operation, buildings requiring urgent

intervention are identified and marked on the EDIF alongwith an estimation of urgency. Depending upon theurgency, an intervention crew will be dispatched to applythe necessary measures. The members of the crew areprovided with an Emergency Intervention Form on whichthey mark the work accomplished and further measures tobe taken. Access to hazardous areas is blocked usingspecial red–white tape.The planning, setting up and execution of the operation

are supported by PEADAB (Post-Earthquake Assessmentof DAmaged Buildings, Appendix C), a computer systemdesigned specifically for this purpose [4]. PEADAB canprovide substantial help and guidance so that the operationis organised and carried out efficiently and without delays.During the phase of execution PEADAB processes on acontinuous basis the inspection forms brought to the fieldoffice by the inspectors, and provides a great deal of usefulinformation about recorded damage as the operationprogresses (see Appendix C).

4. Damage assessment

Damage assessment of buildings is made by inspectionteams of engineers. Ideally there should be two structuralengineers per team, with pertinent experience and/orprevious training for the task.The inspectors have to fill in the EDIF [1], in which the

characteristics of the buildings inspected, their degree ofdamage as well as the recommendations for further actionwill be marked. Furthermore, an appropriate postingplacard (Fig. 2a–c), indicating the classification of thebuilding into one of the three categories, must be placed ator near all entrances of the building to be clearly visible byanyone who wants to enter. To discourage removal of theplacard, a permanent spot should also be marked on thebuilding next to the placard, by use of a spray of the samecolour i.e. green, yellow or red.If urgent intervention is needed (e.g., shoring, removal of

some local hazard, demolition), it is marked on the EDIF,as well as on the posting placard. In case leak or damage toutilities is suspected (i.e., electricity, water, or gas), the

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utilities have to be disconnected. Hazardous and unsafeareas have to be barricaded with red–white tape and accessto them is prohibited.

If the building is safe except for some easy-to-removelocalised hazard (e.g., damaged chimney or parapet wall),it may be posted Green with restrictions, and access to thedangerous area must be prohibited. Obviously unsafestructures should not be entered but should be posted Red.

A copy of the signed inspection form is given to theowner or the building manager, and the purpose andmeaning of the posting are explained to the occupants.

5. Rapid inspection

The purpose of the rapid inspection is to quickly screenout the obviously safe and obviously unsafe buildings, thusminimising the number of those buildings that need a moretime consuming detailed inspection. The outside of thebuilding is inspected and, only if safe, the ground floor. Itshould take 10–30min per building.

Fig. 2. Posting placards for buildings assessed (a) safe for use (Gr

The outside of the building is examined visually fordamage to bearing elements or to secondary elements(chimneys, roof, infill walls, fac-ade, etc.) and for signs ofresidual drift of the whole building or parts of it. Careshould be exercised for possible preexisting out of plumb.Signs of permanent displacement at the ground level, e.g.small gaps between columns and ground, should bechecked.

6. Detailed inspection

The detailed inspection is aimed at providing a morereliable estimate of the condition of the building. It iscarried out for all buildings posted Yellow or Red after arapid inspection, for all critical facilities (hospitals, policeand fire stations, etc.) and for other important structures(e.g., schools). It is also carried out for buildings postedGreen if there is information or indication of damage, e.g.missed during the rapid inspection or due to continuingaftershock activity. The new posting may be different from

een), (b) unsafe for use (Yellow), (c) dangerous for use (Red).

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Fig. 2. (Continued)

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that of the rapid inspection. Depending on the size of thebuilding, the detailed inspection is anticipated to takeanywhere from 1–2 h.

Initially the building is examined from the outside beforeentering: all evident structural and non-structural damageis observed, as well as ground problems or geologicalhazards (settlements, ground fissures, signs of liquefactionand, in case of hillside buildings, signs of slope movementand rockfall hazards). Then, and on the condition that it isconsidered safe to do so, the building interior is examined.The team should proceed from the ground storey upwardsand inspect every floor including penthouse and roof,not forgetting the basement, for indication of possiblefoundation problems, uneven settlements, etc. In case the

need for emergency interventions is indicated by therapid inspection, it is obvious that all required actionhas to be completed before the detailed inspections arecarried out.

7. Emergency interventions

The rapid (and the detailed) inspection of a buildingprovides information about hazardous conditions requir-ing urgent intervention. The information about therequired action and an engineering assessment of itsurgency (low, medium, high) is recorded on the EDIF.The interventions aim either at saving buildings fromcollapse through emergency supports (bracing, shoring) or

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Fig. 2. (Continued)

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at removing some local hazards, e.g. a badly damagedchimney or parapet, or even at demolishing and removingdebris from partially or totally collapsed buildings. In thefield office where the inspection forms are fed intoPEADAB a daily program for hazard removal andemergency support is prepared, taking into account thedata for the buildings inspected the previous day (type ofrequired action and urgency) and the progress of theintervention work by the various crews. The workscheduling will also consider any requests made by ownersof damaged buildings.

The necessary intervention works require availability ofmaterial and equipment and should be carried out byspecialised crews under the direction of an experienced

structural engineer. The intervention crews are alsoprovided with the Emergency Intervention Form (Fig. 3)on which the available data from the inspection, rapid ordetailed, appear and the progress or completion of therequired work will be recorded for subsequent input intothe PEADAB system.

8. Operational plan

An essential element for the success of the operationis its organisational structure. Based on experience gainedfrom earthquakes in Greece during the past 30 years,the structure shown in Fig. 4 is recommended [2]. It issuitable for small- as well as large-scale operations, and if it

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Fig. 3. Emergency intervention form.

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is properly prepared within the general pre-disasterplanning it will produce the desirable results. In the treedepicting the organisational structure, each rectanglerepresents a certain domain of responsibility for whichthe personnel are selected from respective lists of availablequalified people. The criteria for the selection of personnelfor each assignment as well as the relevant responsibilitiesare presented in detail in Appendix A. The materials andequipment required for the operation are listed inAppendix B.

The computer program PEADAB, briefly describedin Appendix C, will be quite useful in all phases ofthe operation (planning, setting-up, execution and dataretrieval).The emergency inspections operation will be part

of a more general preparedness plan designed to dealwith the state of emergency created by the earthquake.Therefore, the details of its implementation will dependupon this general plan and thus could vary from countryto country. However, its main elements would not need

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Fig. 4. Organisational structure for a large-scale emergency damage inspection operation.

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to change, if the underlying inspection procedures remainthe same.

9. Field safety of inspectors

The inspectors assessing the safety of a buildingdamaged by an earthquake must be careful not to exposethemselves to hazardous conditions. Quite often, a buildingthat has suffered serious but not always readily observablestructural damage from the main shock, may be in dangerof collapse in the event of an aftershock. Therefore thebasic safety rule inspectors must always observe, and whichmust always be emphasised, is not to enter a buildingunless they feel it safe to do so. This requires a carefulsurvey of the building’s exterior for a gross assessment ofits safety condition. In addition, several other precautionsas explained below should be taken.

Inspectors should work in pairs, not only for the purposeof reaching more reliable assessments by exchanging views,but also for enabling either member of the team to offer orcall for help if the need arises. When entering a damagedbuilding, inspectors must wear their hard hats and be inconstant alert for aftershocks, falling hazards (parapets,glazing, appendages, ornamentation, etc.) or leaks ofhazardous substances. In case of a factory, laboratory orstorage area, they should be alert to possible release ofhazardous material, either from sighting damaged contain-ers and spills, or by odour, eye irritation, breathingproblems, etc. In such cases, the inspectors should leavethe suspected area and immediately inform the field office.Damaged utility installations may also constitute serioushazards, e.g. exposed electrical wiring or gas leaks. Gas canusually be detected by odour and an effort should be madeto locate and shut off the main valve. Obviously, theinspectors should refrain from smoking when entering suchpremises and it is prudent to do so also when entering anydamaged building.

10. Legal issues

At the stage of the emergency inspections operationplanning (i.e., before a catastrophic earthquake strikes), theresponsible authorities should take all necessary legislativesteps to extend full insurance coverage to the personnelthat will be involved in the inspections, for the duration ofthe operation. This may be done either by assigning to suchpersonnel a temporary status of state or city employee forthe period of the inspections or by instituting specificprovisions. Under all circumstances, the inspectors shouldbe free, by law, of any liability that may arise as a result oftheir assessment and posting or in general in the course ofcarrying out the inspections. This is a necessary measure toensure objective assessments and avoid systematic con-servatisms by inspectors out of liability concerns in theevent of damages that may result from posting decisions.Emergency demolitions carried out during the operation

require also well-instituted legal procedures because whilesome damaged buildings may constitute an obvious hazardand thus require immediate demolition, there will often becases where the need for demolition could be debated. Toavoid possible litigation it is necessary to have adequatelegal procedures that will allow the demolition crews to actquickly, while at the same time securing all the rights of theproperty owners. Thus, buildings marked for demolition asbeing hazardous to the public should be reinspected by anexpert team and the owner’s consent should be soughtbefore any action is taken. If the owner refuses to give hisconsent, he should be instructed to either remove the hazardon his own or face all the consequences for subsequentdamages that may result from his hazardous property.

11. Concluding remarks

The procedures presented herein are based on experienceaccumulated in Greece as well as in other countries from

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damaging earthquakes in the past 30 years and weredeveloped with the goal to make them simple and hence asapplicable as possible, under a wide range of conditions. Ofcrucial importance to the success of the operation areadequate planning as well as manning with well-trainedpersonnel to be assigned to the task, especially concerningthe members of the inspection teams and the interventioncrews. Moreover, the computer system PEADAB that wasdeveloped to support the planning, setting-up and execu-tion of the operation with its graphical capabilities todepict all types of data as the operation progressesconstitutes a good tool that not only may induceauthorities to plan such operations ahead of time but alsowill help to bring them to a successful completion.

Acknowledgements

The work reported herein has been supported by theEuropean Commission under Grant Agreement SUBV/00/298048. Partial support was also provided by the GreekAgency for Seismic Protection (EPPO) and the GreekGeneral Secretariat for Civil Protection. The Computerprogram PEADAB was developed by the ComputerTechnology Institute, a partner to the program. Panoutso-poulou M, Panagiotopoulou D, Thoma T and DandoulakiM have also contributed with their experience in manyfruitful meetings.

Appendix A. Human resources

The operation will be carried out mostly by peopleworking for the city and local or state government.Volunteer structural engineers from the private sectormay also be used as inspectors, if the available pool ofstructural engineers working for the public sector does notsuffice. This will normally be the case if the earthquakestrikes a major city. Under such circumstances, coopera-tion with engineering professional associations will helpalleviate the problem. Referring to the organisational chartof the Emergency Inspections Operation (Fig. 4), thepotential sources of the required personnel, its duties andresponsibilities are described below.

A.1. Chief of operations

The person who will assume the post of operations chiefshould be a structural engineer official with the BuildingDepartment having jurisdiction over the affected area.Alternatively, and depending upon the administrativestructure of each country, the chief of the operation couldbe a senior structural or civil engineering official of the city,the prefecture, etc. He should have a good leadershiprecord, should be familiar with the problem and also quiteknowledgeable of the emergency mobilisation plan and thebureaucratic machinery that will support the operation. Heis selected by the emergency agency planners responsible

for the general mobilisation plan. His responsibilities are asfollows:

(i)

Directs the setting up of the operation, i.e., securespersonnel, assigns duties and sets up local field office.

(ii)

Specifies priorities, oversees work progress, chairsmeetings with coordinators, approves/changes dailywork program, decides on tasks for the team of experts,resolves conflicts, communicates with other emergencyofficials and authorities, replaces personnel if needed,gives pertinent information to the appropriate autho-rities and submits a final report.

A.2. Team of expert structural engineers

They should be senior structural engineers from thepublic or private sector, with expertise in earthquakeengineering, damage assessment and strengthening. Theirduties are: (1) to inspect buildings for which the opinion isdivided as to the need for demolition, buildings of particularinterest (e.g., public, industrial sites) and to suggest theappropriate structural support, and (2) to advise the chief ofoperation on technical issues and offer assistance to thecoordinators of inspections and of intervention crews.

A.3. Coordinators of inspections (rapid or detailed)

The coordinators of the inspection teams should beexperienced structural engineering officials of the city orthe governmental agencies involved in the operation,familiar with the mobilisation plan and the bureaucracyof the agencies supporting the operation. The functions ofcoordinators of inspections are as follows:

1.

Coordinate and supervise the work of 10–15 inspectionteams.

2.

Name the leader of each team. 3. Assign the areas of responsibility for each team. 4. Secure the availability of materials for the inspection

teams.

5. Receive the damage inspection forms and rank the

degree of urgency of the required actions.

6. Make spot checks of inspected buildings. 7. Give copies of the damage inspection forms for data

processing.

8. Participate in the end-of-the-day meeting with the chief

of operations and the coordinator of the support anddemolition crews to prepare the intervention list fornext day, review progress, solve problems, etc.

9.

Resolve conflicts between their teams. 10. Seek the assistance of the team of experts if the need

arises.

A.4. Coordinator of emergency support and demolition

crews

The coordinator of the emergency support teams shouldbe a structural engineer experienced in repair and

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strengthening works, preferably an official of the city or thegovernmental agencies involved in this operation. Thefunctions of coordinator of emergency support anddemolitions are as follows:

1.

Coordinates, directs and supervises the work of theemergency support and demolition crews.

2.

Names the leader of each crew. 3. Assigns the work to the crews. 4. Secures the availability of tools, equipment and

material for his crews.

5. Provides technical guidance and advise and inspects the

work of his crews in the field.

6. Resolves conflicts between the crews. 7. In consultation with the chief of operations seeks addi-

tional technical assistance if his crews are not sufficient.

8. Seeks the technical advice of the team of experts in

difficult situations.

9. Receives the Emergency Intervention Forms and

checks the interventions that have been completed.

10. Gives the daily list for interventions as well as progress

information to the data processing unit.

11. Participates in the end-of-the-day meeting with the

chief of operations and the inspection team coordina-tors to prepare the intervention list for next day,reviews progress, solves problems, etc.

A.5. Damage inspectors

Damage inspectors constitute the backbone of theoperation. They should work in teams of two inspectorsone of whom will be the leader of the team. They should bestructural engineers or architects, employees of the city orlocal government in the affected area, neighbouringjurisdictions or from other areas in the country havingpertinent experience from past earthquakes. If theirnumbers are insufficient, local volunteer professionalscould also be commissioned and utilised, with theassistance of the appropriate professional associations.

The person chosen as leader should be workingpreferably for the public sector, with previous experiencein the assessment of earthquake damage and, in case ofdetailed inspections, should preferably be a structuralengineer. The functions of damage inspectors are asfollows:

1.

Inspect the buildings, fill the damage inspection forms,barricade unsafe areas, mark them and post thebuildings with the appropriate placard.

2.

Explain to the building occupants the objectives of theinspection and the meaning of the posting. Make clearthat this inspection has nothing to do with the detailedengineering evaluation and design that will be requiredto receive any governmental assistance for possiblerepairs.

3.

The members of the team sign the posting placard andthe damage inspection form. In case of disagreement

between the members of the team, the opinion of theleader prevails.

A.6. Emergency support and demolition crews

They should be structural works technicians, equipmentoperators and construction workers. They should comefrom the agencies involved in this operation (e.g., buildingdepartments, city technical services, public works depart-ment, etc.) or, if not sufficient in number, from the privatesector.

A.7. Coordinator of secretariat, data processing and

logistics

A public employee, preferably a section head, knowl-edgeable of the administrative system. His/her duties are asfollows:

1.

Coordinates and supervises the personnel supporting theoperation.

2.

Is responsible for the distribution of the material to theinspection teams. Checks if some stock needs replace-ment.

3.

Is responsible for the smooth function of data proces-sing. If any problem arises, makes sure it is resolved bythe system support as soon as possible.

4.

Processes copies of the Damage Inspection Forms andthe Emergency Intervention Forms of the day to theData Processing and makes sure the data is fed into thesystem.

5.

Files the processed original Damage Inspection andEmergency Intervention Forms and gives the summaryreports of the buildings needing urgent intervention tothe coordinator of the intervention crews.

6.

Groups the requests from the public and handles themto the appropriate sectors, i.e. coordinator of interven-tion crews, coordinator of inspections, or team ofexperts.

A.8. Data processing, secretariat and logistics, system

support and public requests

The support personnel come from the departments oragencies to which the chief of operations or the coordina-tors belong, or from any other department, as foreseen inthe emergency mobilisation plan. The functions of thesupport personnel are as follows:

1.

Process the data on the Damage Inspection Forms. 2. Produce lists with requirements for further action. 3. Process the data of the Emergency Intervention Forms. 4. Produce summary reports. 5. Provide clerical and secretarial support to the operation. 6. Maintain stock and supply the materials required for the

operation (see list), except for the materials needed foremergency support and demolition.

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7.

Support the smooth operation of PEADAB. 8. Handle requests by the public (e.g., provide inspection

scheduling information, receive and process informationabout emergency conditions, explain safety classifica-tion, give information about government assistance forrepairs, etc.).

Appendix B. Materials and equipment

The planning of the Post-Earthquake Emergency In-spections Operation should include the advance prepara-tion and stocking of essential items. In addition, theavailability of demolition equipment should be secured, aswell as its operators. The following should be readilyavailable for running the operation smoothly.

B.1. Equipment for the local field office

Equipment for a functional field office includes desks andchairs, telephones, photocopying machine, PCs, printers, aswell, topographic maps of the community on a scale 1:10000or 1:5000, and also 1:1000 showing street names, blocknumbers and, if possible, building ID numbers.

In addition, an adequate stock of items is required forthe inspection teams.

B.2. Equipment of the inspection teams

1.

Topographic maps (1:1000) with block and buildingnumbers.

2.

Field Manual. 3. Inspection forms and posting placards. 4. Pen and a notebook. 5. Measuring tape. 6. Carpenters’ axe or hammer. 7. Flashlight. 8. Sprays with green, yellow and red paint. 9. Barricading tape.

10.

Hard hat. 11. Official identification. 12. Digital camera. 13. Optional, binoculars.

B.3. Equipment for the hazard removal and demolition crews

The above will be provided by the city or localgovernment technical services, or other pertinent depart-ments. If the available equipment (bulldozers, cranes,etc.) from the public sector is not sufficient, it could besupplemented from the private sector. For opera-tional efficiency this should be provided for in thegeneral mobilisation plan in which updated lists of therequired equipment, its owners and operators should beincluded.

Appendix C. The PEADAB system

Based on earlier work [9], a computer programabbreviated PEADAB has been developed [2–4] and isintended to be an easy-to-use tool for supporting opera-tions of post-earthquake emergency assessments of build-ing safety in earthquake-affected areas. It can helpestablish standard procedures necessary for the success ofsuch operations that are often executed under chaoticconditions. Furthermore, it conserves the experiencegained, as it is otherwise typically lost. The PEADABsystem may be used in three modes:

�

To support the planning of the post-earthquakeemergency inspections operation by storing the availableresources (human and material), which will be needed toset up the operation after the earthquake strikes(changes in the planning may be introduced also duringthe execution of the operation). � To support the execution of the operation by processing

the data of the inspection and intervention forms,checking the agreement of the recorded damage with thegiven posting (colour) classification, and by providingreports on various aspects of the operation in progress.

� To provide information concerning the progress of the

operation, inclusive of daily lists of the buildingsrequiring emergency intervention.

The basic functions of PEADAB are presented in thefollowing sections.

C.1. Plan operation

(a)

Definition of agencies: the name, address and informa-tion of the agencies that are going to participate in theoperation are given.

(b)

Definition of available resources from each agency: thehuman and/or material resources contributed by eachagency are introduced.� Personnel (engineers, technical staff, support stuff).� Vehicles, equipment (car, bulldozer, etc.).� Materials (e.g., equipment for the inspection teams,

intervention crews, field office).

(c) Selection of personnel and equipment for the operation.� Personnel: a box is chosen from the organisational

tree (Fig. 4) and personnel for this position areselected from the available resources of the desiredagency.� Equipment, vehicles, materials: these are selected

from the list of agencies and are charged to theinspection teams or the crews for emergencyinterventions.

(d)

Division of the area into sections and assignment tocoordinators.� The assignment may be accomplished in the

program either by selection from a map, or byspecifying the surrounding streets.

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Fig. 5. PEADAB screen for the selection of attributes defined by the user.

Fig. 6. Map and histogram of PEADAB depicting the results of the query.

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C.2. Review/update operation

Update of the available resources (i.e. personnel,equipment, materials) may be performed at any timepreceding or after the earthquake.

C.3. Execute operation

The data supplied by the inspection teams and theintervention crews for a specific building are introduced tothe system either by selecting the building on the map, orby giving the address of the building.

C.4. View–extract information

PEADAB will provide the necessary information for therunning of the operation, as well as overall informationrelated to the recorded damage. In more detail

(a)

It provides lists of the following:� The personnel and equipment involved in the

operation, and that kept in reserve and still availableat each agency.� Buildings inspected and displayed by inspection

team, by section, assessment for use, etc.� Buildings requiring emergency intervention shown

by category of intervention and/or by degree ofurgency.

(b)

It maps the inspected buildings according to theirposting classification as the operation progresses.

(c)

It provides information on buildings for any combina-tion of user-defined attributes recorded in the EDIF.For example: the damage distribution of all cornerR.C. buildings built in the interval 1960–84 (years ofcode changes in Greece) and having over five storeys(Fig. 5). The information is produced either in list orhistogram form, or depicted on a map (Fig. 6).

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[9] Sardelianos D, Anagnostopoulos S. Post-earthquake emergency

assessment of building safety. User’s manual. Greece: University of

Patras, European Commission/D.G. XI, Civil Protection EPPO; 1997.

Stavros S. Anagnostopoulos, Professor and Head of Structural Engineering

at the University of Patras, Department of Civil Engineering. He has

received his SM, CE and ScD from MIT.

Marina L. Moretti is a structural engineer and received her PhD from the

National Technical University of Athens. She is instructor of civil

engineering at the University of Thessaly.